The TV reality competition changed everything for Phan, the first comedian to earn the title Last Comic Standing on the show.

It made him famous, for one thing. It opened doors at comedy clubs nationwide.

And most importantly, it got him off the street.

“On ‘Last Comic Standing,’ nobody knew who the hell I was,” Phan says. “I was just some kid living out of his car, or living under his desk.

“It’s much better now. I’m not a multi-millionaire or anything like that. But I’ve gone from a car to a bed. So I sleep MUCH better now, in a much nicer setting. As opposed to on the floor under a pile of garbage that forms a desk.”

Dat Phan made his national TV debut in 2003 on the first season of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing." He ended up beating everyone else on the show, including second-place winner Ralphie May (who went on to massive success despite his also-ran status).

Fourteen years later, that TV stardom is still getting Phan gigs and drawing people to his stand-up comedy performances. That includes next week’s shows at Laugh In Comedy Café in Fort Myers.

Phan's act has changed a lot since 2003, he says. For one thing, it’s a lot more improvised.

“After doing comedy for 25 years, you’re almost doing the jazz version of stand-up comedy,” he says. “You’re kind of making up different beats and combinations.”

Phan might not be as busy as Ralphie May, but he says he does stay quite active these days. In addition to touring, for example, he’s appeared in the TV shows “Bones,” “Scorpion” and “StartUp,” and he has a small role in the new King Kong movie, “Kong: Skull Island.”

“It’s one of the best creature films I’ve seen in awhile,” he says about "Kong." “And I’m not saying that because I’m in it!”

Years after “Last Comic Standing,” Dat Phan says he’s still restless and eager to work and be creative. That's why he stays as busy as possible.

“You have to,” he says. “What’s the alternative? Am I just going to lay there and cry?”